Quote, unquote: just-food's week in words

Rodkin said investors should still be confident about ConAgra's long-term prospects

Nestle and Mondelez International were among the major food manufacturers reporting 2013 results last week, although perhaps the most notable financial update was ConAgra Foods' second profit warning in five months. Elsewhere, there was speculation over the future ownership of UK grocer Morrisons and United Biscuits continued its international expansion with an investment in Nigeria.

"It appears clear to us that Mondelez is finally transitioning off its absolute 5-7% growth range, and instead moving rapidly towards a category growth/market share top-line algorithm – not just for 2014, but also over the longer term. In other words, Mondelez is marking to market growth" - Barclays Capital analyst Andrew Lazar reflects on Mondelez International's shift of long-term sales target.

"Clif is a long-standing and well-respected competitor in the nutritional bar marketplace, which makes this imminent release of a copy-cat product particularly disappointing" - Daniel Lubetzky, founder of US snacks firm Kind LLC, lashes out at rival Clif Bar & Co. for allegedly copying its packaging design on its Mojo bars.

"We believe children of this generation will have shorter lifespans than their parents"- Dr Andrew Coward, chair, Birmingham South Central Clinical Commissioning Group raises his concerns about the growing rate of obesity in the UK.